Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who provides the voice of Elmo on "Sesame Street," resigned Tuesday after a man filed a lawsuit accusing him of conducting an underage sexual relationship.

The lawsuit was filed in a New York court Tuesday, a week after another accuser recanted his claim that Clash, now 52, engaged him in underage sex.

"I am resigning from Sesame Workshop with a very heavy heart," Clash said in a written statement Tuesday. "I have loved every day of my 28 years working for this exceptional organization. Personal matters have diverted attention away from the important work Sesame Street is doing and I cannot allow it to go on any longer. I am deeply sorry to be leaving and am looking forward to resolving these personal matters privately."

The Sesame Workshop also issued a statement announcing his resignation. "This is a sad day for Sesame Street," it said.

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The suit seeks $5 million in damages from Clash, alleging that Singleton "suffered severe injuries, including but not limited to mental, psychological and emotional trauma."

The earlier accuser -- who never filed a lawsuit -- issued a statement through a lawyer last week saying he "wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship."

The man, now 23, had told Sesame Workshop in June that he started a relationship with Clash as a teenager, according to the workshop, which announced that a thorough investigation found "the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated."

When the first accusation emerged, Clash acknowledged a relationship between "two consenting adults" but said the man otherwise was making a "false and defamatory allegation."

"I am a gay man," Clash said in a statement. "I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it, but felt it was a personal and private matter."

In an interview previously posted on the website of NYC Dads, an initiative of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Clash spoke about how he worked to spend time with his daughter, who lives with his ex-wife outside Baltimore.